Self-aligning shingle



Oct. 29, 1968 R. E. SHAW SELF-ALIGNiNG SHINGLE Filed Sept. 14, 1966 FIG! ROBERT E. SHAW wmanv ATTORNEYS United States Patent "ice 3,407,557 SELF-ALIGNING SHINGLE Robert E. Shaw, 115 Merchant St., Johnston, Pa. 15904; Mary Ellen Shaw, administratrix of said Robert E. Shaw, deceased Filed Sept. 14, 1966, Ser. No. 579,291 9 Claims. (Cl. 52-555) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A self-aligning shingle adapted to be laid with like shingles in overlapping courses, the shingle having a plurality of slots extending from one side edge thereof and defining a plurality of shingle simulating tabs, and at least a pair of projections, the projections of a shingle in an underlying course of shingles being adapted to at least temporarily support a shingle in an overlying course of like shingles by engagement with the closed ends of the tab defining slots.

The present invention relates to roof, wall, or other surface coverings, and more particularly to self-aligning strip shingles adapted to be readily applied to a surface in overlapping courses.

Numerous attempts have been made to facilitate application of shingles to vertical or inclined surfaces. In this respect, it has been proposed to provide shingles with markings or guide openings to serve as visual gauges to aid a workman in positioning a shingle with respect to an underlying course of shingles. In applying an overlying course, the workmen after sighting in the overlying shingle, held one end in the desired position with one hand while nailing the other end with the other and. As in the case of non-marked shingles, shingle slippage during nailing often resulted in shingle misalignment.

Later it was proposed to temporarily support a shingle in a desired vertical overlying relationship with respect to an underlying course of shingles to free the hands of a workman during installation by providing the shingle with tabs, which after being punched out by the workman, are adapted to support the shingle by engagement with the upper edge of an underlying shingle. However, in using such shingles the horizontal position of the overlying shingle must still be sighted in and the workman is required to perform the time consuming task of accurately punching out tabs in each shingle to be installed to insure accurate tab forming and prevent tearing of the shingle.

It has also been proposed to provide recesses in the upper and transverse edges of shingles, whereby permitting a workman, after partially driving a nail into the upper edge recess of an underlying shingle, to both vertically and horizontally align one end of an overlying shingle by positioning its transverse edge recess with respect to the nail. While providing an accurate gauge and a degree of support for one end of a shingle, this construction still requires the workmen to sight in and support the other end of the shingle during nailing, whereafter the workman must finish driving the positioning nail to prevent outward bowing of the next applied course of shingles.

Further, various types of metal brackets have been proposed for use in supporting overlying courses of shingles to insure desired vertical spacing between courses. Conventionally, such brackets take the form of a S-shaped metal strip which is adapted to engage both the lower edge of an overlying shingle and the upper edge of an underlying shingle, or of a J-shaped metal strip which is adapted to be nailed to a supporting surface and to support a shingle by engagement with the lower edge thereof.

3,407,557 Patented Oct. 29, 1968 However, in all instances of which I am aware, the brackets are supplied separately from the shingles and either the brackets must be sighted in with respect to an underlying course of shingles prior to nailing or shingles being applied must be sighted in with respect to previously installed brackets.

This invention overcomes the above and other disadvantages of existing shingles and siding elements. In accordance with this invention, shingles are fabricated in such a manner as to permit a Workman after installing a first course of shingles to apply shingles of additional courses without the need for sighting in individual shingles or supporting same during final nailing. In carrying out the present invention, I provide a shingle with a plurality of projections and slots which are arranged in a predetermined relationship; the projections of the shingles in the one course being adapted to be received Within corresponding openings in the shingles in an adjacent course. Accordingly, shingles of the adjacent course are automatically vertically and horizontally positioned and physically supported by previously installed shingles to enable a workman to have both hands free for nailing or otherwise securing such shingles. In the preferred form of the present invention the projection receiving openings of the shingles are equally spaced apart and employed to define a plurality of shingle simulating tabs.

Further advantages and variations of the shingle of the present invention will become apparent from the following specification taken with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 illustrates shingles formed in accordance with the present invention arranged in overlying courses;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of a shingle;

FIGURES 3-7 are fragmentary sectional views taken along line 3-3 in FIGURE 2 and showing several modifications of the shingle projections;

FIGURE 8 illustrates the preferred manner of stacking shingles of the present invention when shipped; and

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 99 of FIGURE 2 and showing a modified design of the closed end of the tab defining slots.

Referring primarily to FIGURE 2, it will be seen that a shingle formed in accordance with the present invention is generally indicated as 1 and is bounded by first and second relatively spaced side edges 1A, 1B and first and second relatively spaced end edges 1C, 1D which join the side edges. Shingle 1 includes an upper portion 2 and a lower portion 3 having a plurality of shingle simulating tabs 4 which are defined by open ended slots 5, side edge 1A and end edges 10, 1D. End edges 10, 1D adjacent the lower portion of shingle 1 are cut out, as at 5', so that when adjacent shingles of a course are installed the spacing and arrangement of slots 5 throughout the course appears to be equal and uninterrupted. As thus far described, it will be apparent that the structure of the shingle of the present invention is conventional. Further, such shingle may be formed from any convention-a1 shingle or siding material, such as metal, plastic, wood or an asphalt saturated and coated fiber base having a desired surface coloring or textured design. Also, it will be understood that the shingle body may be of any desired length and more than two shingle simulating tab defining slots may be provided.

It will be seen by referring to the drawing that the shingle of the present invention differs from those heretofore known by the provision of a plurality of projections, such as indicated at 6A, 6B, and 6C, which are adapted to extend outwardly from surface 7 of upper shingle portion 2. The projections are shown as being disposed along a line which is parallel to the closed upper ends 8 of slot openings 5, as being spaced apart a distance corresponding to the spacing between slots 5, and as being centered with respect to the shingle simulating tabs 4. It will be understood that the terms distance between slots and distance between projections, as used herein, are to be construed as meaning distances between the centers of the slots and projections, respectively.

In FIGURE 1, shingles 1, 1A and 1B, the latter being in phantom, of three overlapping courses are shown as being relatively horizontally offset with respect to each other a distance corresponding to half the distance between slots 5, as is the case in a conventional shingle installation. It will be apparent that after having installed a first course of shingles including shingle 1, a workman may thereafter install shingle 1A of a first overlying course by merely placing the slots 5 of shingle 1A in alignment with projections-6A and 6B of shingle 1 and thereafter sliding shingle 1A relative to shingle 1 so as to place projections 6A and 6B in supporting engagement with the closed ends 8 of the slots. Thus, in a one step operation shingle 1A is simultaneously positively supported by and accurately positioned with respect to a shingle 1. Accordingly, both hands of a workman are free to permanently attach the upper portion of shingle 1A to a supporting surface, such as a roof or wall, as by nailing. Thereafter, shingle 1B of a second overlying course may be installed and supported on the projections on.6B and 6C of shingle 1A. By providing three projections in the three shingle simulating tab construction illustrated, shingles may be selectively installed as shown or may be stepped upwardly to the right as viewed in FIGURE 1 in which case shingle 1B would be supported by projections 6A and 6B. Further, the provision of three projections facilitates shingle installation by a left handed workman, who naturally works from Right to Left. In this latter case, the shingles of each course would be stepped upwardly to the left. Preferably, the number of projections provided corresponds to the number of shingle simulating tabs in any given shingle design.

While a three projection shingle construction is illustrated in the drawing it will be understood that only two projections, such as 6A and 6B are necessary in the practice of the present invention. In this case, assuming projection positioning would be the same on each shingle employed in covering a surface, shingles 1, 1A and 1B would be stepped upwardly to the right, as discussed above. When employing only a two projection in a four shingle simulating tab construction, projection 6B could be disposed equidistant between a first pair of slot openings, defining the second tab as viewed from the left end of the shingle, and projection 6A would be selectively spaced from projection 6B a distance equal to one or two times the distance between adjacent slot openings.

FIGURE 8 illustrates the manner in which pairs of shingles formed in accordance with the present invention are assembled for shipping. It will be seen that by inverting one of the pairs of shingles, such as that identified as 1A, the projections of each shingle are received within corresponding slot openings in the other shingle. When, as in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the length or height of the projections is equal to or less than the thickness of the shingle, it will be seen that this arrangement permits the individual projections to be protested against mutilation during shipment and permits successive pairs of thus assembled shingles to be stacked one upon the other in direct surface engagement. A stack of such pairs of shingles may be shipped in a conventional fiberboard container or banded, as desired.

Various alternative projection constructions are illustrated in FIGURES 3 through 7. Specifically, in FIG- URE 3 projection 6C is shown as being in the form of a metallic pin 9 which may be force fitted within shingle aperture 10. Alternatively, pin 9 may be bonded to the shingle in any suitable manner. As indicated above, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention the length of that portion of pin 9 projecting from surface 7 is equal to or less than the thickness of the shingle. This not only permits assembling of pairs of shingles as shown in FIG- URE 8, but renders the projecting end surface of the pin less obvious to a viewer when the shingles are installed as shown in FIGURE 1. Alternatively, the projecting end surface of pin 9 may be colored to correspond in appearance to the shingle simulating tabs 4. Further, the relative vertical spacing of the shingles 1, 1A and 1B, shown in FIGURE 1, may be changed by making the distance from a line drawn through the closed ends of the shingle slots to the line drawn through the projections less than the length of the slots, whereby projections of a shingle of an underlying course, i.e. shingle 1, received within slots of a shingle of a first overlying course, i.e. shingle 1A, are covered by shingles simulating tabs of a shingle of a second overlying course i.e. shingle 1B.

In FIGURES 4 and 5, projection 6C is shown as being in the form of a metallic pinhaving an enlarged head 11, a shank 12, and a laterally enlarged or deformed portion 13. The length of shank 12 is suflicient to space enlarged portion 13 from the surface 7 of shingle 1 a distance equal to or slightly greater than the thickness of overlapping shingle 1A. This construction is desirable inasmuch as the enlarged portion 13 locks the lower portion of shingle 1A against movement normal to surface 7. Head 11 functions to provide a bearing surface to prevent tearing of the underlying shingle 1 or withdrawal of shank 12 from aperture 10. The overall appearance of a roof formed from shingles embodying this construction may be improved, as in the case of pin 9 shown in FIGURE 3, by coloring the enlarged portion 13 to correspond to the coloring of the shingles, or by permitting the shingle simultating tabs of overlying shingles to cover the enlarged portions of underlying shingle-pins.

In FIGURE 6, projection 6C is shown as being formed integrally with shingle 1. Preferably, in such construction the length of the projection is equal to the thickness of the shingle and corresponds in color to the surface appearance of the shingle simulating tabs.

In FIGURE 7, projection 6C is shown as being in the form of a pin having an enlarged head portion 14 and an inclined end portion 14- facing towards the lower portion of the shingle. The head portion 14 is affixed to surface 7 of the shingle by any suitable adhesive. The inclined end surface 15 renders the pin less obvious when the installed shingles are viewed from the ground.

The projections may also formed of a water soluble material applied as a spot coating to surface 7 of the shingles. Preferably, the material employed is brightly colored to contrast with surface 7 of the shingle to aid a workman in quickly aligning the shingle slots with the projections. A workman may remove the projections immediately after the courses of shingles are installed as by scrubbing with a wet brush, or the projections may be worn away over a period of time by weather conditions.

FIGURE 9 illustrates a modification of the shingle structure particularly adapted for use with pin like projections of the type illustrated in FIGURE 3, wherein the projecting length of pin 9 is less than the thickness of the shingle. In this modification the upper end of slot 5 is stepped to form a covering 17 for the projecting end surface of pin 9.

While the shingles of the present invention have been described with reference to the utilization of simulating tab defining slots to receive the projections, I anticipate the provision of circular or vertically elongated slot openings provided in the upper portion of the shingle at points above the closed ends of slots 5. It will be understood by referring to FIGURE 1 that in this construction such openings.'provided in overlying shingle 1A, would be covered by the shingle simulating tabs 4 of shingle 1B. Further, the projections could be provided on the underside or rear surface 18 of the shingle (see FIGURE 3) and vertically extending slot openings, not shown, could be provided in the upper edge of the shingle portion 2 in alignment with slots 5.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have designed a self-aligning shingle which does not require sighting in during installation and which frees both hands of a workman during final nailing of the shingle to a supporting surface. Further, it increases the speed of installation by permitting a Workmans helper or unskilled laborer to proceed before the workman and position a complete course of shingles whereafter the workman need only nail the positioned shingles in place.

It is to be understood that the above discussed embodiments of the present invention may be altered or modified and that other embodiments may be contemplated without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Also, the term shingle employed in the claims is not to be construed as limiting the scope thereof, but is meant to include any structural element employed as a wall or roof covering.

What is claimed is:

1. A seif-aligning shingle adapted to be laid with like shingles in overlapping courses, said shingle being bounded by first and second relatively spaced Side edges and first and second relatively spaced end edges joining said side edges, said shingle having at least two open ended slots extending inwardly from said first side edge and terminating at closed ends spaced from said second side edge, said slots cooperating with said first side edge and said end edges to defined at least three shingle simulating tabs, and said shingle having at least two projections extending from a shingle surface bounded by said edges, said projections being disposed between said spaced relatively from said second side edge and said closed ends of said slots, and being ofiset with respect to lines extending along said slots between the open and closed ends thereof, the distance between said projections measured in a direction transversely of said slots being a whole number multiple of the distance between said two slots, and at least said two projections of a single in an underlying course of said shingles being adapted to at least temporarily support a shingle in an overlying course of said shingles by engagement with said closed ends of said slots thereof, whereby slots of said shingles in said overlying course are positioned in an offset relationship with respect to slots of said shingles in said underlying course.

2. A shingle according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said projections is a pin member supported within an aperture provided in said shingle, the length of that portion of said member extending beyond said surface being greater than the thickness of said shingle, and said member having a portion adapted to overlie said surface of a shingle disposed in an overlying course of said shingles.

3. A shingle according to claim 1, wherein said shingle is provided with two shingle simulating tab defining slots and at least two projections, one of said two projections being disposed equidistant from each of said two slots.

4. A shingle according to claim 1, wherein the distance from a line drawn through said closed ends of said slots to a line drawn through said projections is less than the length of said slots, whereby projecting end surfaces of projections of shingles of an underlying course received within slots of shingles of a first overlying course are covered by shingle simulating tabs of shingles of a second overlyin course.

5. A shingle according to claim 1, wherein the projectnig end surfaces of said projections are inclined and face towards said shingle simulating tabs.

6. A shingle according to claim 1, wherein said projections are in the form of pins having enlarged head portions, said head portions being adhesively bonded to said shingle.

7. A shingle according to claim 1, wherein said shingle is provided with two shingle simulating tab defining slots and three projections, one of said projections being disposed equidistant from each of said two slots, and the other of said projections being spaced apart a distance equal to twice the distance between said slots and being disposed equidistant from said one projection.

8. A shingle according to claim 1, wherein said projections are pin members supported within apertures provided in said shingles, the length of that portion of said pin members projecting from said shingle surface being equal to or less than the thickness of said shingle.

9. A shingle according to claim 8, wherein said length of said pins is less that the thickness of said shingle and said slots are stepped adjacent to the closed ends thereof to provide a covering for the projecting end surfaces of pins of a shingle of an underlying course of shingles.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 22,571 11/1944 Miles et al. 52-547 1,494,707 5/ 1924 Rachlin 52-525 1,538,329 5/1925 Honigbaum 52-546 2,106,315 1/1938 Brooks et al. 52-585 2,421,407 3/ 1947 Bowman 52-546 2,588,673 3/1952 Tyson 52-546 3,309,831 3/1967 Misch et a1. 52-546 FOREIGN PATENTS 604,270 8/ 1960 Canada.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner. J. L. RIDGILL, Assistant Examiner. 

